Hachiman Hikigaya
Hachiman Hikigaya is the main protagonist of Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru. He is the viewpoint character of the series. He is a student in class 2-F of Sōbu High School and the second member of the Service Club. Appearance Hachiman is a teenage boy of average height with short-medium black hair. His most prominent feature is his set of dead fish-eyes and a short strand of hair sticking upwards (Ahoge). He is usually seen wearing his school uniform, but sometimes wears a long sleeve undershirt and a casual orange T-shirt. At home he sometimes wears an "I <3 Chiba" shirt spelled with Kanji. In the light novel, Yukino states that she criticized Hachiman's unattractive facial expression, not his facial features, which she believes to be the proof of his twisted nature. Yui once mentioned to Totsuka that he is quite plain-looking and it would take quite a lot to notice a person like him (Hachiman). From their descriptions, it is safe to say that he is indeed handsome, but it was diminished due to his dead-fish eyes and gloomy expression. Because of this, girls are under impression that he is gross, disgusting, creepy and even a pervert. According to Komachi, he’s not very photogenic. In the drama C.D. Komachi pointed out that his eyes were not always rotten and that they were once normal in pictures and videos when he was younger. Hachiman furthers the point by stating how there was a time when he was innocent and carefree. In the anime version whenever Hachiman's past is shown, it should be noted that his eyes are mostly covered by a shadow or purposely not shown to the audience. Personality He is an apathetic, isolated, and friendless boy. Hachiman firmly believes that youth is simply an illusion created by hypocrites, for hypocrites are born from the ashes of past failures. He does things by himself and never relied on anyone, since he doesn't have any genuine friends to rely on. He tends to talk to himself which is one of the most prominent features of the Light Novel. Hachiman sometimes acts quite vain, since once he claimed that he has a nice face, to which Yukino retaliates by saying that he has rotten eyes without commenting anything about his supposed "handsomeness". Shizuka Hiratsuka describes his personality as "rebellious and loner-prone." She also says that he has the nature of a petty criminal and spineless goon with which Yukino instantly agrees with. She is the first person to point out his rotten eyes and mindset, and that he has a sour attitude. Yui says that the way he acts in class is totally gross or disgusting. In fact both Yukino and Yui often used words such as gross, disgusting and creepy to describe Hachiman. Hachiman is sometimes described as "twisted" by other characters in the series because of the pessimistic way he thinks and the solutions to requests that he comes up with. This can be seen when he concocted a plan to break up the relationship between Rumi and her peers by exposing their selfish nature to each other. This makes him be seen by others as an extremely horrible person. He often explains his thoughts by using examples from his own life experience by saying "Source: Me". He often blames society for his personality and other problems as well. Hachiman doesn't have a positive opinion of girls either. This can be seen as he refers to almost all the girls he interacts with as a slut or a bitch, either confronting them straightforward or in his mind. This includes Yukino, Yui, Iroha, Yumiko, and others due to his belief of girls not being genuine and only being after looks and money. This is all due to his past experiences with the opposite gender. His negative attitude towards the opposite gender lessens as he becomes better acquainted with those around him. Hachiman has a self-depreciating, sarcastic, as well as observational style of humour. People who know him and his way of thinking can understand, while others may feel pity for him. Other people are often uncomfortable with his style of humour. But, Kaori's idea of Hachiman being hilarious cannot be taken into account which puzzles Hachiman himself as he doesn't understand what she finds so funny. It was mentioned that during middle school he used to cosplay. He was an otaku to some degree and often makes references to different animes and mangas during his inner thoughts. It is show quite often in the light novels. Hachiman tried his best to be sociable during middle school life, but all attempts failed and he was ostracized as his actions were made as a joke to laugh for others, as their opinion of him is creepy, gross and uninteresting. After being ostracized he slowly became disinterested in social life. Hachiman was the victim of verbal and psychological bullying which caused him to remain alone and develop his apathetic & pessimistic attitude. He refuses to change, as he believes that no matter what changes the individual goes through, people will never change their view of the individual (First impression). He also believes that to change is to "lose" and give in to the pressures of the world around you. His pessimistic attitude and lack of self-value is clearly mentioned in light novel. He firmly believes that nothing good happens to him and forces himself not to hope for something that is not existent. He makes others hate him in a way to keep himself at a distance, so that he won't be disappointed nor hurt by their superficial acting. Hachiman dislikes superficial acting just to blend in. Thus, he hates Hayato's Clique which is relying on false friendship. However, he wants to forget his past traumatic experience and wished to reset his life, thus avoiding anyone from his middle school. His hobbies include reading, watching TV and sleeping - anything that prevents interaction with others that may result in ridicule or gossip that is targeted at him. He considers himself to be a hindrance to others and avoids being with them. He purposely distances himself out of concern. Hachiman believes that he is insignificant and is thus willing to become the scapegoat, no matter how significant the situation is to him, in order to protect everyone and keep them happy. He turns down all invitations and avoids engaging in all social activities as a first reflex of a loner since elementary school. Hachiman assumes and fears that there must be some ulterior motive to any invitation he receives because of his experiences in the past.This can be seen in his attempt to turn down invitation such as Yui's offer to celebrate Hachiman's birthday or her invitation to the fireworks festival, also for the class celebration of cultural festival success, and Hayama's invitation to a double date with Kaori Orimoto and Chika Nakamachi. Exceptions for this are Haruno, Shizuka, Iroha who manage to force him to comply however he replies. It should be stated that the only person who Hachiman will readily accept any invitation only if it's from Totsuka and sometimes Komachi. It should be noted that Hachiman has a soft spot for younger girls given that he's an older brother himself, as seen by how he treats Komachi, Iroha, Rumi and Keika. Despite his so called rotten personality he does show signs of being kind underneath his exterior as shown by the various methods he goes through for the sake of other people. However, this often comes at a cost of causing pain to himself or others. He often keeps his face stiff and thus surprising everyone by his concern for the individual. However, despite his good intentions, his methods are greatly flawed and cost him his reputation and relationships. His teacher, Shizuka pointed out that his intentions of helping others are not a good reason for him to hurt himself, as even if he himself is used to the pain, there are those who will find it painful to see him hurt. She also adds that if he sticks to his ways, he will not be able to save the person he want to save the most. He is mostly result-oriented, hence he is not bothered by any process, as long as no person gets hurt other than himself and if it gives him the desired result. He will even perform dogeza if he has to. As a result, most of his actions are loathed by those who are aware of his true intentions. Even though Hachiman can lower himself to perform dogeza, he has an unusual pride. Hachiman refuses to accept anything he considers pity, sympathy, or charity. This can be seen when Hachiman refuses to accept Yui's friendship believing it to be in-genuine and her way of paying him back for saving her dog. It's also seen when he rejects Yui's offer of honey toast. Another example would be his agitation with Hayama's actions towards Kaori and Chika during the double date, as he thinks that Hayama is just "sacrificing" himself to return a favour. Since he has been alone since a young age, he does not know how to rely on others. Also, he does not understand the feelings of allies, even if he can understand most peoples behaviours, and as a result he occasionally hurts those close to him. Even though Hachiman doesn't like his own method of doing things, he has pride in his work, and won’t let anyone call it self-sacrifice. Later, in the light novel and episode 8 of Season 2, Hachiman realizes his mistakes in doing things and thus vows to change little by little. He gives his word to the service club members that he will do something about his attitude. He then shows an emotional side of himself where he was on the verge of tears when he states to both Yui and Yukino that he wants "something genuine". 'Essays and monologues' Hachiman's twisted personality can be seen in his recorded essays and school work. More at Looking Back on High School Life Report. Abilities He can cook curry as mentioned in light novel. He was also responsible for house chores when his sister was in elementary school to keep her safe from sharp instruments in the kitchen. He has decent artistic skills, as he drew a bear in his second essay. He also refers to himself as a "second-rate artist" in the light novel. Hachiman is quite''' intelligent. He ranks 3rd in Japanese behind Hayama (2nd) and Yukino (1st). It is mentioned he is skilled at other humanities subjects. However his academics in science and math subjects are near rock bottom. Hachiman is a fast learner once he applies himself and he is often able to formulate a plan with the given situation and time. He demonstrates these skills when coming up with a plan to win the Athletic Festival, and during his attempt to control the Christmas Event committee. After spending a lot of time being a loner due to unsuccessful socializing in the past, he obtains an extensive knowledge in reverse psychology, often using this understanding how to manipulate social interactions and dissect motivations, intentions, judgments, hidden meanings. He has very good observation/perception which can be seen as he looks past several persons' facades and superficial acting within seconds from meeting them for the first time. He tends to read between the lines to see others true motives. He strips away Sagami's, Iroha's and Haruno's facades almost immediately, and some characters don't even bother to resume their cover when they are with Hachiman. Hachiman isn't always able to guess peoples true motives and is sometimes distracted or blinds himself with his own perception of a person. Because of this he sometimes has a hard time understanding Hayama, Yukino, and Yui. In later chapters Hachiman is shown to be a capable leader. He thinks outside of the box, minimizing risks for everyone involved, even though he is not in the Student Council. The few people that realized Hachiman's leadership potential and intelligence are Shizuka, who brought him to the Service Club, also Shiromeguri Meguri, Saki who even mentioned he could be student council president. Her younger brother Taishi, Isshiki and it is not far-fetched to assume Yukino, Yui, Zaimokuza, Saika, and Hayama. He also has decent negotiation skills, as Hachiman is able to convince others to go along with his plan, even if they are against it. For example, he managed to persuade Iroha to take her role as the student council president while explaining to her the benefits of being one. At Chiba Village summer camp, he managed to convince Tobe, Hayato and Yumiko to carry out his plan to break Rumi's relationship with her peers by pretending to threaten them so that their true selfish natures were revealed. In light novel, Hachiman is said to be skilled in choosing empty spots in heavy crowd to pass through, unnoticed. He names this skill: Stealth Hikki, and was almost able to apply it at the Sports Festival's pole drop event but failed as Hayama was keeping an eye on him. '''Academics He is implied to be skilled in Japanese, as he holds the third highest score in his year, outmatched by Yukino (1st) and Hayama (2nd). My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong as I Expected Manga: chapter 1 pg.29 Hachiman also has an astounding knowledge in Japanese history. He quickly deduced that Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's delusions were based on the 13th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate. Furthermore, there is a Bodhisattva whom Hachiman shares his name with. Hachiman also knows a lot of things about his home town Chiba exceeding Yukino's knowledge. Even Yukino has admitted that he knows his history.My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Anime: episode 2; part B My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong as I Expected Manga: chapter 4 pg.11 Besides Japanese, Hachiman is also proficient in English and other humanities subjects. However, he is incredibly bad at science and math, an example of this being when he confused a hernia for herpes, and his summer midterm score of 9/100 in math. Hachiman also has a wide range of trivial knowledge pointed out by Komachi, Yui, Yukino due to reading of variety of books. In Volume 4 Hachiman recalled his summer camp days of how he could deduce the correct answer to all the riddles of the scavenger hunt but was ignored by others 'Athletics' Hachiman is skilled at tennis according to Saika. His tennis skill is almost on the same level as Yumiko, Yukino and Hayato. He even invented two techniques that Zaimokuza gave fancy names to, much to his chagrin as he feels there's nothing special about them. Hachiman is skilled at swimming, according to the drama CD, he swam two kilometers in middle school because he had nothing else to do when his class had pool lessons. The light novels mentions that in middle school Hachiman got 'A' in sports test earning him a medal (although this was more due to his so called 'friend' sardonically recording his shuttle-run times). He also has a lot of physical stamina and was able to keep up with Hayama during the school marathon, something he attributes to riding to school on his bicycle everyday. Social Suicides Done by Hachiman * Confession to Kaori Orimoto in middle school and was rejected as she wished both of them to remain friends, but they didn't speak to each other afterwards. The incident spread in their class, and Hachiman was ridiculed and bullied further. * At Chiba village summer camp, Hachiman planned to break the relationships of Rumi Tsurumi's peers who loathed and frequetly badmouthing her for no valid reasons by convincing Yumiko, Tobe and Hayato to act as delinquents threatening them in order to expose their selfish nature to each other. The girls have intense quarrel with each other after "sacrificing" Rumi. At the end of the cultural festival, Tobe shared his opinion that Hachiman was seriously terrible and told his clique members that something not unlike the rooftop incident happened during summer also. * During the cultural festival planning committee members meeting, Hachiman suggested a slogan containing thinly-veiled, harsh criticisms on slacking off members and also Sagami's hypocritical own. This earned him contempt from them as they muttered what was wrong with him. However, this made the entire members started to fulfill their duties more seriously. * When Sagami refuses to come out of hiding and return to her duties as a chairwoman of the culture festival, even after being coaxed by the popular Hayato and her two friends, Hachiman berated her with harsh words and sneered at her unworthiness, causing Hayato to slam him against the wall. Sagami was moved when she saw the school idol defending her, and agreed to return. The incident spread among the planning committee members and throughout their school, drawing disapproval and disgust from them, as all of them were under impression that Sagami became a victim of Hachiman's behaviour. Fortunately, there were some that were aware of Hachiman's true motive, and felt that he was very brave. As time passed, this blew over. * During Kyoto field trip, Hachiman falsely confessed to Hina Ebina in front of Tobe, who was about to do so, much to the shock of Hayato, Ooka, Yamato, Yukino, Yui and Tobe himself. Hina then solemnly replied that she was not yet ready to date anyone and will reject any confession, no matter who he is. Later Yukino then voiced her intense hatred of Hachiman's method and Yui cried as she asked him whether he didn't understand others' feelings. Fortunately, the incident was kept secret from their classmates, not to mention Hina was grateful for him keeping Hayato's clique intact. Addressed As / Nicknames * Hikki by Yui Yuighama * Hikitani-kun by Tobe, Hina, Hayama * Hikio by Yumiko Miura * Haa-chan by Keika Kawasaki * Senpai by Iroha Isshiki * Hikigaya-kun by Haruno, Yukino ** Yukino has also called him Hikigerma, Hikifroggaya, Hikifoil, Mr. Most Hated Guy in the Entire School and Fishigaya. * Onii-chan by Komachi Hikigaya, Taishi Kawasaki Quotes *"What if... And this is strictly hypothetical... What if you could reload your save data to change your previous choice, like in a game? Would it change your life? The answer is a resounding no." *"Everyone has something they hold dear, something they never want to lose. That's why they pretend. That's why they hide the truth and that's why they lie.. but.. the biggest liar of all.. was me. *"I hate nice girls. Just by exchanging greetings with them will get them on your mind. Start texting each other, and your heart will be set a flutter. If they call you, you're done for. Enjoy staring at your logs and grinning like a fool. However, I won't be fooled again. That's what your kind calls kindness. If you are nice to me, you're also nice to others. I always end up nearly forgetting that. Reality is cruel, so I'm sure lies are a form of kindness. Thus, I say kindness itself is also a lie. I always ended up with these expectations. And I always ended up with these misunderstandings. And before I knew it, I stopped hoping. A highly-trained loner is once bitten, twice shy. As a veteran on this battlefield of life, I've gotten used to losing. That's why I will always… hate nice girls." My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Anime: episode 5; part B *"We only change to avoid the current situation. The true meaning of not running away is planting your feet firmly in the ground and doing the best you can with your present. Who's running away now? Why can't you just accept who you are and who you were?" My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong as I Expected Manga: chapter 1 pg.39 *"Hardwork betrays none, but dreams betray many. Working hard alone doesn't assure you that you'll achieve your dreams. Actually, there are more cases where you don't. Even so, working hard at something is some consolation at least." *“Oh yeah? Good on you to notice. You’re right, I am nice. I’ve been through all kinds of things in my life, but I haven’t gone out for revenge on a single person at all. If I was any other normal person, this world would’ve ended already. You could even call me the savior of the world.” Hachiman to Yui *"Guys are simple creatures. They get the wrong idea just from getting talked to. They'd be happy just getting handmade cookies. They don't need to taste good." * "I hate private parties and inside jokes… Ah, but I do like internal strife. Cuz I’m not on the inside!” *"The world won't change, you must change yourself in this world. Now, how will you change yourself? Answer is, you become the god of the new world." *"We're back to how we started and can now live our own lives again. There's no reset button on life, but at least you can reset your relationships." *"People often say, "If I change myself, I'll change the world." That's a load of crap. People's judgment of others create a stereotype, and that's the impression that lasts. Loners are forced to do things alone. If you try to stand out by working hard at something, you just become a target for attack. It's the rotten rule of the children's kingdom." *"MOT is cool and awesome!" *"There's probably no one who's more of a realist than the unpopular loner. I have lived my life with the Three Nevers of the Unpopular: Never to hold (hope), Never to open (your heart), Never to treasure (sweet words)." *"Hey, stop getting so chummy with me, I might even start treating you as a friend." *"The rich want their private jets and beaches. So it follows that loners, who always have plenty of private time, are the victors in life. Ergo, being alone is the new status symbol." *“I want something genuine.” *"Life goes on regardless of whether you're laughing or crying, and your high school days will eventually draw to a close." *"It's not like I can't talk to people. I just don't indulge in pointless small talks." *"Life is something that can never be lived twice. Even this pointless act will eventually end. And while thinking that one day, I'll surely regret its end." *"Fake people have an image to maintain. Real people just don't care." *"See, it’s simple. ––A world where no one was hurt is now complete." *"There was no meaning to things that were only superficial. That was a single belief that both me and her once shared." *"Girls were made of sugar and spice, and all things nice." *"Everyone is a slave to their past. No matter how much you wish to move forward, the events of yester year will bear down on you like the light of the stars as soon as you glance up. Unable to laugh or to banish your past, you carry it ceaselessly in a corner of your heart, waiting for it to resurrect at an inopportune moment." Trivia *Questions regarding whether Hachiman is bisexual are discussed by fans due to his attachment towards Saika Totsuka. *Hachiman has a list of people he wish to murder (naming his notebook's "People to Kill"), which includes Yukinoshita Yukino. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Anime: episode 2; part B *Hachiman used to have "spirit world diaries" and "government reports". My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Anime: episode 2; part B **He maybe suffered a "chunnibyou" state during his time because, despite of cosplaying during his middle school days, he also has a "Spirit World Diaries" notebook. *Hachiman likes teachings of Buddhism, since he feels that his ideals match with it. *Hachiman knows many things about Chiba and has a great love for his home town Chiba. *Hachiman likes MAX coffee which he seems to drink frequently. *Hachiman hates tomatoes My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Anime: OVA; Intro and insects. *Hachiman has an iPhone which he uses for the alarm, applications, and games rather than for talking. *Despite his bad reputation and social skills, Hachiman has managed to earned the affections of many girls. With the girls being, Yui Yuigahama, Yukino Yukinoshita, Iroha Isshiki, and Saki Kawasaki. *Hachiman used to drink tea in the Service Club in a paper cup My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Anime Season 2: episode 1; part A, but later Yui and Yukino gave him a cup with an image of Pan-San as a gift and as a way to show him that he is important to the both of them. *Some fans affectionately compare Hachiman with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Batman]. **There was a scene where Batman takes all the blame for Harvey Dent's murders in The Dark Knight ''and it was very similar to how Hachiman performed social suicide so that Sagami is spared from all the blame for disappearing while she could fulfill her duty as the cultural festival chairwoman. **However, on the episode 13 of the english sub of OreGairu.Zoku, Hachiman is wearing an "8-man" mask with a similar resemblance to Batman's mask. And according to some sources on MAL's OreGairu.Zoku Episode 13 discussion forums, it was revealed that skiddiks is the one who made the mask and took 30 minutes to do it. And this might be served a fan-service to some as how the audience likes to compare both Hachiman and Batman's ideology. *Interestingly, both Hachiman's and Hayato's first and last name started with the letter H. Also, both his first and last names have 8 letters, while Hayato has 6 letters for each. *Hachiman seems to enjoy eating at Saizeriya. *It was shown on the 2nd episode of the first season of the anime that he owns a Nintendo Gamecube and likes to cosplay during his middle school days. Then on the 7th episode, it was also shown that Hachiman also owns a Black PSP. Interestingly enough, it seems that Hachiman is a typical type of gamer. *Hachiman may have a heavy reference to Houtarou Oreki from Hyouka, both are the protagonist, smart but lazy but they do their own works in time, they were being forced to join the club, and both were introverts. They also have their messy hair trademark, but Hachiman's eyes are differently compared to Oreki's drowsy eyes, and they have different perception of people around him. *Hachiman is named after a god of war and archery in Shinto and Buddhism. His name means God of Eight Banners. Since ancient times Hachiman was worshiped by the peasants as a god of agriculture and by the fishermen who hoped he would fill their nets with much fish. Hachiman is also associated with '''Bishamonten' (毘沙門天) or just Bishamon (毘沙門), an armor-clad god of war or warriors and a punisher of evildoers. In the light novel, there are mention of an unpleasant memory related to his name that didn't described in any details. **Interestingly, Yukino once states that the motto of the Service Club is to teach a man how to fish, he won't go hungry ever again. He once believed youth to be evil. These facts, although perhaps coincidentally, are nod to his namesake. ***He once "punished" some "evildoers" - Rumi's peers, the slacking off cultural festival planning committee members and Minami Sagami with his uncanny ability in reverse psychology. **Furthermore, his eyes are mentioned to resemble that of a dead fish's. *Hachiman Hikigaya won an Award as Best Male Character Award held last October 10, 2015 at the NewType Awards in Japan. Including his voice actor himself, Eguchi Takuya. References Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Sobu High School Category:Class 2F Category:Service Club Category:Hikigaya Family